I am not selling this Amp! Hell, I am thinking about ordering Steve's new Horn Speaker to mate with it.

Why the change? Well, hit the 300 hr mark with this Amp and you will know. Sorry to the guy that wanted to buy it before I even posted to Audiogon............I can't part with it.....no hype and no BS.

So true. When my Toriis started opening up, it felt like dawn breaking through cathedral windows. Glad you're keeping the Torii.

My favorite rectifiers so far are Japanese Mullard GZ-34's from Andy at Vintage Tube Services. Another less expensive option are RCA 5A4's from the 50's and 60's. I also have to order the National 7dj8's as the replacement for the 6N1P. I decided to start the break in on the JJ 6CA7's tonight. I'll let them burn in for a few days and then should be able to compare them to the Black Treasures.

Morgan, thanks for this. Your post finally got me to pick up the phone and call Andy at VTS. Looking forward to my discussion. I just got done doing a bunch of rectifier swaps over the weekend. My Taboo still has its Mullard GZ-37, but the other equipment had all RCA with one old JAN Raytheon in the SE84ZS. Now, my Ultra has a 1960s Hammond-labeled RCA 5U4G (straight-sided, which is big change for me, since I tend to like the voluptuous big-bottle girls), and the Toriis are trying out some early RCA 5AS4A (again, straight-sided). These latter are some interesting rectifiers. Lots of muscle, but I cannot discern yet if they are having a negative impact on depth, maybe blackness.

Which leads me to my second question: anyone know of a method for tube burn in other than plopping them into the target amps and letting them run for about two weeks with a 5/5 on-off cycle? Other than simply playing them, of course. Here's whaT I have observed: even if I take detailed notes, by the time I start really hearing what I am looking for, the process of listening to the tubes change pretty much wreaks Heisenberg havoc. Of course, once done, then it is easier to swap tubes and really listen. So maybe that's just the way it has to be done. But it makes honest tube comparison time-consuming and difficult.

Third, the Nationals are quite nice, I think better than the Ediswanns I had in the Toriis. So, when I replaced the Nationals I had in the Ultra with the Siemens-Halske 6922 tubes, I moved the Nationals to the Toriis. Too soon to tell how much a difference it makes, because I changed two things at the same time (not to mention the rectifiers).

Good question on the tube break in. I just turn the Torii on and leave it on for a few days and then turn it off a few hours and repeat! I'm up to a few hundred hours now in a few weeks and she is starting to open up a bit:).

As for the tube comparisons......very hard indeed for me! Especially since they are hot and you can't change them out quickly!

My tube comparisons go like this.....play my favorite songs, see what I like, listen to that tube combo a few days, then make a switch and over time see what I appreciate the most. That's not very scientific, but it points me in the direction of what I like the best :)